I'm scared of dying. I'm selfish. I'm even lecherous sometimes.
But I can't allow myself to run away without a fight. I can't throw my friends aside.
Especially—what about Miyoko if I run?
She trusts me so much. Right now, she's probably still waiting alone on the Demon Planet for me to come back—waiting for me to bring good news, to bring the hope of defeating Demaon—waiting for me to return to save Earth, and save her.
How could I run now? How could I leave a girl who's just opened her heart to me all alone there?
"Are you asking me to be a deserter, Doraemon?"
I stared at him, face stiff.
"Sigh… Nobita, I didn't expect you to figure it out," Doraemon said, helpless.
"At first, when I was on the Demon Planet and planned to go back to stop us from using the What-if-telephone-booth, I hadn't thought of this."
"But when I went to the past and actually saw the What-if-telephone-booth, and I was about to use it to restore the world—at the very moment I picked up the receiver—"
"I suddenly remembered: if I restore the magic world to the original world, it only creates a new parallel world."
"Only we would return to the peaceful world we know. The people of this world would still be trapped in the hell of Demaon's invasion."
"But Demaon is so strong, and so cunning. I don't know if we can win. And if we fight him, would another tragedy happen like with Professor Mangetsu?"
"I was torn. I didn't know what to do."
"So I put the What-if-telephone-booth back in my pocket."
"I thought, if you didn't ask, I wouldn't take it out—we'd keep facing the Demon King together."
"But if you did ask, I'd pretend not to know, use the What-if-telephone-booth to restore the normal world, and we'd go back to our old life—pretend the magic world never happened."
"Who knew you'd catch on."
He sighed again. "Yes, like you said—it might be desertion."
"But keeping you alive is part of what I'm supposed to do as a childcare robot. It's my responsibility."
Doraemon's eyes locked onto mine.
"We're not obligated to face an enemy we can't possibly defeat, are we?"
"Besides, our world isn't the magic world."
"So, Nobita, don't stop me. If I just press this phone button lightly, it all ends."
"You can return to the happiness that was originally yours."
"Isn't that good?"
I fell silent.
Miyoko's mom didn't fully grasp the details, but she understood that Doraemon wanted to flee this world and return to the original one—to avoid the Demon King.
"Please… don't abandon this world," she pleaded, weakly, not knowing what reason could possibly persuade us. If we weren't from this world, how could she ask us to risk our lives?
Watching her beg, and hearing Doraemon's words, my head was a mess.
As for Dorami, she didn't mind either way—she'd accept my choice or her brother's.
"Let's eat first. Rest a bit and think after," I said.
When in doubt, eat.
"Good idea. After that battle, we should rest," Doraemon agreed.
"I…" Miyoko's mom still wanted to say more.
"It's okay, Auntie. We'll talk later."
"For now, be our guest at my place."
We didn't intend to keep discussing it. Supporting Miyoko's mom, we went downstairs, cutting off her words. We all had heavy hearts and grim faces.
But in the living room, my mom lit up when she saw everyone.
"Dorami! Long time no see!"
She was genuinely happy.
"Mom! Long time no see!" Dorami, like Doraemon, calls my mom "Mom."
"Huh? We have a guest?" Mom blinked, surprised I'd brought home an adult woman. Usually I bring back girls my own age.
Her eyes turned a bit odd as she looked at Miyoko's mom. But Miyoko's mom was too preoccupied to notice.
At the dining table—
Mom was delighted to have everyone eating together. The house hadn't felt this lively in a long time. And this time, the guest seemed to be a woman around her age; before, it was always kids. She'd felt a generation gap.
Now she finally had someone to chat with.
…
So Tamako eagerly tried to bond with Miyoko's mom. Miyoko's mom, distracted, only gave occasional, half-hearted replies—until Tamako started talking about Nobita.
That caught her interest. As a former monster, Miyoko's mom knew how terrifying the demons were. Later, she'd seen someone like Nirnaeth appear—someone who struck Demaon with a fearsome attack. Although he was eventually repelled, even the demon guards couldn't stop him from leaving.
Nobita was, in her eyes, the strongest person she'd ever seen. If anyone could resist the demonic invasion, it would be him. And on top of that, there was Doraemon with his strange magical gadgets. If anyone could defeat the Demon King, it would be them.
She could tell at a glance that Nobita was the core—the final call would be him.
Because of that, she wanted to win him over to stay. At the very least, she wanted them to take Miyoko away from this world if they wouldn't fight.
But how to win him over—that was her worry.
She noticed that the seemingly non-combatant woman was Nobita's mom. She should know a lot about her. She perked up her ears.
"When did you get together with Nobita?" Mom whispered to Miyoko's mom.
Get together?
Did she mean when Nobita brought her back to life?
"Not long ago," Miyoko's mom answered, a bit confused.
"And have you… you know… done it?" Mom asked.
Not knowing what "it" referred to, Miyoko's mom nodded.
"It was fine."
"Nobita's a gentle boy with that kind of thing, right?" Mom continued.
Miyoko's mom nodded again.
"Since you're with Nobita, I won't say much more," Mom said. "But don't worry—I treat all of you equally."
Miyoko's mom still didn't quite get it—until Mom went on, very earnestly:
"Please raise the children you and Nobita will have. Add new members to the Nobi family."
Only then did Miyoko's mom realize what Tamako had been talking about this whole time.
How could she think there was that kind of relationship between her and Nobita?
She's old enough to be his mother—Miyoko is my age!
A delicate blush bloomed on Miyoko's mom's refined face.